“No, wait…” Steve whispered. “We still have to find the last orb. Let the fool talk. He may tell us even more. Besides, it will give those jets enough time to drop the Termicide.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she replied.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Diamond Jack mocked Jenny as they got within forty feet of him. “The medication I’ve been taking has increased all of my senses. I can see, hear, taste, feel, and smell better than any other human on Earth. My ability to sense things has increased as well. You two cannot hide anything from me now. I’m a superior being, far ahead of you stupid humans.”
“You are insane,” Steve said. “The drugs you’ve been taking have made you crazy. Don’t trust what your mind says.”
“Oh no, it is you who are wrong about a great many things,” Diamond Jack replied. “First of all, the USG killed your father years ago. It just took him a couple of decades to realize it.”
“Now, I know that you’re crazy. My dad died of a rare brain desease.”
Diamond Jack smiled, showing his steel teeth for the hundredth time. “Is that what Jenny told you? Your father used to work for the Secret Service, right?”
“So what?” Steve snapped. “That’s public record now.”
“Don’t listen to him!” Jenny yelled. “He’s trying to mess with your mind. Everything he’s said so far has been a lie. Don’t listen to him now!”
Steve ignored her, wondering what this man was going to reveal. “Say what you mean,” he snapped. “I’ll let you dig your own grave. By the time you are done talking, no lawyer in the world will be able to save you from execution.”
Diamond Jack snapped his finger and the large monitor behind them came on. “Your father and my mother worked together along with six other people.” He snapped his finger again. “Just watch.”
The computer screen showed his father and several other people seated around a table in a plush office suit. Diamond Jack’s mother was among them. Behind them, through a large window, a building with several guards around it could be seen. The snow-covered mountains in the distance revealed the fact that they must have been in a place far off.
Jack smiled. “During a secret mission to Russia a few weeks after this video was taken, they all broke into a secret weapons factory and stole the blueprints of a state-of-the-art laser cannon. It could blast missiles out of the skies long before they could do damage on the ground. The Russians had that kind of technology long before we did. Anyway, while in that factory, they were all exposed to a biological toxin that set in motion a death sentence for all of them. The Russians had a secret way of guarding that facility. Any individual stupid enough to break in and go past all of their security faced death from that toxin. The USG knew about the risks, but failed to warn them. That was this agency’s way of making sure that this covert operation would remain a secret. All of the people involved would die before this secret could be revealed to the world. That’s why the USG did not want you to use any of this new technology to save your father. So you see, they are the enemy. I’m not.”
“I don’t believe you. I remember when Dad went to Russia and that was over twenty years ago. He’s never been sick in all that time—not even with a cold.”
Jack folded his arms. “That engineered virus laid dormant in their bodies for years. However, when each of these people was exposed to the flu virus, the super Russian virus came to life. That’s why they didn’t all get sick at once. But all of them died from the same brain- eating disease. Do you think that all of this was a coincidence? Frankly, I’m surprised that your father lasted as long as he did.”
Steve looked over a Jenny. “Is any of this true?”
Jenny looked down and swallowed. “Look, I would have told you eventually. It just was never the right time with all of this other stuff going on. But this still changes nothing now. I was not even part of the USG when all of that happened. I was still in elementary school.”
“But you knew!” Steve tensed with anger. He wondered what other secrets was this organization still keeping from him. “Hell!” he screamed. “Damn you all to hell!”
“Do you really want to trust her now?” Jack laughed. “What do you think they’d plan to do to you after this mission was over? They would not let you go on living with this kind of information. Just think about that!”
“I’m not a killer!” Steve yelled.
“She’d planned on killing you,” Jack replied. “After this mission was over, she’d planned on getting rid of you. She even asked Neil about it before you arrived at this center. I have video evidence of this. Kill her and join me. We can rule the entire world and become billionaires several times over.”
“Don’t listen to him!” she yelled. “You can never trust him. He turned on us, and he’ll do the same exact thing to you as well.”
“Stop it, both of you!” Steve snapped. He then reached into his back pocket and withdrew a pair of handcuffs. “I’m going to expose everything. I’ll let a court of law decide everyone’s fate. It’s the only right thing to do.”
“Do you hear that, Jenny?” Jack blurted. “All of what you’ve worked for will be for nothing. Instead of living in a fancy castle overlooking a beautiful beach somewhere, you’ll be in a prison cell awaiting execution. He’ll do that to you.”
Jenny stood still, lips quivering.
Diamond Jack could now sense the confusion in Jenny’s mind. With only a little more prompting, maybe he could still get her to change sides. “Jenny never told you what happened to her husband, did she?”
Steve glanced over at Jenny and then looked back into Jack’s face. “It doesn’t matter. We’ve come here to end your evil once and for all.”
“We?” Jack chuckled. “That’s your plan. It was never her’s.”
Jenny raised the gun. “That maniac is insane!”
Diamond Jack’s icy frown got darker and more twisted. “She killed her own husband, Oscar. He was my partner. He was the one who smuggled that orb from this center and other stuff too. We did it to save mankind. There were blueprints of things—if placed in the wrong hands—that could have destroyed the world hundreds of times over. However, she wanted the orb for herself. When her husband refused to give it to her, she shot him dead and took it back. Soon, after everything cools off, she still plans on manufacturing some of the stuff on that orb so she can become super rich. That whore is greedy. She even helped me escape from my cell so that I could tell her how to open up that ship on the moon. Then, she could have become a true queen here on Earth.”
“Steve, he’s lying!” She cocked the gun and gripped it tighter. “Shut up or I’ll shoot you right now!”
“No you won’t,” Jack calmly said. “You need me alive. I’m still the only one who knows the frequency code that can open up that ship.” He then smiled and lifted his hands, the alien gloves sparking with energy once more. “It’s time to tell the truth.”
“Okay, Jack,” Steve said, “we’ve talked enough and you’re under arrest. The law will decide her fate too.”
Diamond Jack looked past Steve and directly at Jenny. “We can still have it all. Kill him and I’ll give you the frequency code that opens up that ship. Refuse me, and all will be lost forever. I’ll never be taken alive. Make your choice now.”
Steve moved toward Diamond Jack, but stopped when he heard the pistol cock again. He looked to the side and saw that Jenny’s gun was now pointed at him. “What in the hell are you doing?”
She took a deep breath and looked from one to the other. “I can’t let this opportunity pass. I just can’t! Besides, I could never survive in prison. Please, understand.”
Steve turned to face her. “You can’t be serious. This man has lied to everyone and also killed dozens of people. You must do the right thing. I promise that I won’t implement you in any of this, just let me arrest him.”
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“All you have is his word,” Jack interrupted, stepping still closer. He looked around the room and focused back on Jenny. “How can you trust a man who knows that you’d planned to kill him? I wouldn’t. Besides, what about all of the other things he’ll be ruining as well. The many inventions and all this other secret stuff that you’d plan to build an empire off of will be lost forever when everything going on down here is made public. You’ll have politians and businessmen deciding how to use technology they can’t even begin to understand. They’ll be the ones who’ll destroy this world—not me.”
Steve looked directly into her eyes, trying to read into her mind. However, he could not reach a decision about this woman. After all, he’d only known her for a few days. He’d only recently discovered that she’d once planned on killing him too. Now, he’d at least try to appeal to her sense of morality—if she had any morals. “Jenny, killing me is wrong,” he said. “You are not an evil person. You cannot just kill me in cold blood.”
“She’s done it before!” Diamond Jack blurted. “Remember, she’s the one who helped me escape and fake my own death.” He looked directly at Steve. “Yes, she and Oscar planned the whole thing themselves. I just came along for the ride.” He then laughed before frowning again. It was time to shift sides yet again. “Steve Miller now knows that you’ve committed treason. He knows that you are indirectly involved in everything I’ve done. You have to kill him now!”
Jenny’s bottom lip started quivering again. She did not know what to do. She had a choice of joining with a maniac, or going to prison for life. Neither choice made any sense. “I don’t know what to do,” she whispered to herself. “None of this is fair to put me in.”
“You have to choose between good and evil!” Steve yelled. “Do what is right.”
A cracking sound came from behind them. Several small holes had appeared in the glass window behind them as those things started to chew through. The other creatures in the hanger were now flying about in a frenzy.
“Time is running out sweety,” Jack said with a smile. “Kill him now and save yourself too! Think about all those years in prison if he lives.”
Jenny raised the gun, hands trembling. “I’m so sorry, Steve.”
Steve tensed, body frozen in suspense. “Remember this, you’ll have to live with this decision for the rest of your life. Every single time you go to bed, you’ll think about me. Everytime you see someone who looks like me, you’ll think about this moment. Your entire life will be defined by the next few seconds. Will you side with good or evil?”
With tears running down her cheeks, she cocked the gun and looked dead into Steve’s eyes. For six long seconds there was no movement. Finally, she lowered the gun. “I can’t do it,” she whispered and let the gun drop to the floor. “I just can’t do it…”
Jack gritted his teeth in rage. “Bitch!” He then raised his arms and fired a large bolt of electricity through the power gloves. The bolt hit Jenny in the chest with such force that her body went flying backwards through the air before slammed into the side wall. “Take that you ungrateful little whore.”
“Good God!” Steve snapped. He dashed from his spot and ran over to where Jenny laid. He reached down, lifted her head, and gazed into her eyes. They had rolled back into her head and her breathing had apparently stopped. He then looked back up at Diamond Jack, who casually walked toward them. “You animal!”
Diamond Jack smiled, showing those steel teeth again. However, in the dim light, he appeared more ghostly in a supernatural way. “That’s another one of them down. I’ll never get tired of killing USG members—one- by- one, or in a massive group, it doesn’t matter to me in the least bit.”
“Why all of this now!” Steve yelled while standing up.
“Because the USG will soon be expanding to new offices across the country. This was my last chance to get them all in one place at one time. I’ll get my revenge on them and you too.” Diamond Jack took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Neil had no mother for me to torture and kill, but you do.”
Steve’s fist balled up again. “Say what you mean!”
“Once I’m finished killing you off and all of the USG, I’ll find your mother,” Jack said. “And when I do, I’m going to cut off her arms and legs, then finally her head too. And when I’m done with her, I’m going after your sister, wife, and son. They’ll all die screaming in agony!”
Steve had heard all he could stand. He dove into Diamond Jack in a fit of rage. While swinging wildly, he attempted to connect with a left hook, a right cross, and an uppercut. However, this man’s super-quick reflexes allowed him to avoid contact. Steve stepped back and attacked again.
Diamond Jack blocked the first punch with his right forearm, the second punch with his left arm—and stepped to the side—then he countered Steve’s last punch with an elbow to Steve’s chin, a knee to Steve’s chest, and a reverse spin-kick to the side of Steve’s head.
Steve fell back across a conference table and fell on to the floor. Pain now ebbed from several parts of his body. His foe’s attack was both stunning and painful. He realized that this guy was a dangerous fighter too. He quickly climbed back to his feet, ready to attack again.
“Give it up, punk!” Jack growled. “I’ve downloaded your fighting style directly into my brain. I know what you’re going to do even before you do. In other words, you can’t win. But I’m going to love beating you to death with my bare hands. Come on, let’s finish this!”
Steve slowly approached Diamond Jack again. He knew that he’d have to fight in a non- traditional manner. That would be the only way to defeat this maniac. He looked into the man’s eyes, which were now dark and cold. He’d seen eyes like this before in other killers. But this time was different. They reflected an evil that had to be stopped at all costs. Steve charged again with a series of kicks and punches. However, Diamond Jack easily dodged and blocked the onslaught before lashing out himself. Diamond Jack connected with two quick fists to Steve’s chest, a chop to the neck, a knee to the groin, then another quick reverse spin-kick to the side of Steve’s head. The last blow sent Steve falling to the floor yet again.
“I told you that I’m far superior to ordinary humans in every known way,” Jack said while laughing. I represent man’s biological future. My reflexes are faster, my mind is sharper, and all of my senses are more focused. To me, you’re just a dumb animal to be slaughtered.”
Steve climbed off the floor and took a deep breath. Remember, he told himself, change your fighting method. Switch from hard to soft style. Add speed to the hands, followed up with kicks and fingers to the pressure points. Do the unexpected. “Okay, punk, engage me!”
“With pleasure!” Jack yelled and ran toward Steve. He lashed out with three attempted chops to Steve’s neck, ribs, and stomach in a move to make Steve react by countering with blocks, straight punches, and side- kicks. Instead, Steve pivoted to the right and deflected the blows before focusing on Jack’s solar plexus with a sharp jab. This was followed up with the base of both of Steve’s hands striking against both temples of Jack’s skull at the same time, a knee to the groin, and then thumbs into Jack’s eyes.
“Ahh!” Jack yelled and staggered back, gasping in shock. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Fighting dirty!” Steve snapped and went on the attack. He delivered a straight punch to Jack’s nose, a side-kick to the man’s ribs, and then a spin-kick to the side of the man’s head.
Jack fell back into a free-standing mainframe and tipped it over. The crash sent sparks flying. He rolled over and fired a bolt of energy into Steve’s chest. However, the gloves’s power was so low that it only knocked Steve backward. “I can play dirty too!”
Steve quickly leaped back to his feet to see Diamond Jack fast approaching with a broken table leg in his hands. In response, he picked up a chair and swung it in a wide arc, catching Jack in the shoulder and neck.
Diamond Jack fell flat onto the floor, rolled over, and jerked a throw rug out from under Steve’s feet. Steve was now flat on his back again. Diamond Jack quickly climbed on top of him and opened his own mouth wide, showing his steel teeth. “I’m going to bite off your freaking head—literally!”
Steve reached back, grabbed for anything. His fingers found a writing pen from an overturned table. He gripped it hard and brought it down on Jack’s shoulder, ripping into flesh. He then pushed up with all of his strength, throwing the man off.
“Ahh!” Jack screamed in agony, yanking the bloody pen from his shoulder.
Steve slowly climbed off the floor, ready to continue the fight. “You see, I’m full of surprises!”
“Funny guy!” Diamond Jack replied in anger.
“Oh Lord…” Jenny moaned from about twenty feet behind them.
Diamond Jack jerked around in shock. He could see her move a little bit. He also see her gun resting on the floor not more than three feet from her hand. In response to this sight, he dove for the weapon. He then grabbed it and rolled over.
Steve took cover, diving behind a free-standing computer.
The lights suddenly went out, leaving the room very dark. Steve scampered off to the side as Diamond Jack fired two shots at him. The lights in the hanger started flickering too. They were also much dimmer.
“Hey, Steve?” Eddie’s voice erupted from the room’s intercom. “I’ve been watching on the security cameras. I thought you could use my help. I’ve also opened the doors to the elevator in the rear of the room. Get Jenny and head out of there.”
“Thanks, I owe you big-time!” Steve replied.
“I’m going to kill you too, Eddie!” Jack yelled out in the darkness and then fired in the direction of the sound of movement to his left. “You can’t hide forever, Steve!”
“You missed, my friend!” Steve yelled out.
Machines of the Gods Page 24